Happy Snow Couple

      Last week, I would have told you that this cute snow couple might be in danger of melting but our weather has turned chilly again and that now seems less likely.  I guess the groundhog was right about 6 more weeks of winter!  

     My card today is my DT inspiration piece for the challenge at FarmQuest Country Christmas.  Our theme is always "Anything Country and Christmas Goes."  We want to see outdoor, country, Christmas scenes on your projects but beyond that, anything is OK.  I think 2 snow people in the woods qualifies, right?

     The image came from Anet Art Store (I have a growing collection of her art) and it was colored with watercolor pencils, plus white gel pen for the snowflakes and highlights..  I used a Spellbinders die to cut the image, and I inked the edges with a red ProMarker.  The background dp came from Recollections.  That's been a favorite of mine and I've been hoarding scraps of it, using bits and pieces to patch together backgrounds for cards.  I'm not completely out of it yet, but the scrap stash is getting thin and I think I have only one full sheet of it left uncut.  

     I printed out the sentiment, cut it with an Avery Elle die, and added it to the bottom corner.  Overall, a very CAS card but the dp makes it look busy.  :-D

     Challenges:

    

     This is my second post today and my first one was for the challenge at FarmQuest General Store.  If you'd like to see that one, just scroll down one post.  For either challenge, we'd love to see you playing along this month.  

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Snowman in July?

      In keeping with all the "Christmas in July" themes, I just had to do at least one snowman card for Christmas.  I adore snowmen images and I'd use them year-round if I could find an excuse.  But I do feel sorry for those snowmen who have to tolerate our heat wave temperatures (anything 100 F or above for 3 or more days!) in July.  Although this one, and his little friend, seem to be holding up pretty well.  :-D

     I have to share a quick, childhood story before I share about my card.  This particular snowman, with the little bird on his arm, always reminds me of a theme park called "Santa's Village" which was up in the mountains in California.  Where I grew up in southern California, we didn't have winter snow so a trip to Santa's Village was a treat.  It happened to be near my grandfather's cabin and we always spent at least a week during the winter at that cabin so it was a short trip over to Santa's Village.  One of the things available in the park was a town square with lots of fresh snow (often machine made) where kids could build snowmen.  The only ones I ever built were at that square.  I remember watching winter birds perch on the stick arms of the snowmen, waiting to be fed seeds which were sold in small bags for the kids to scatter around for the birds.

     This snowman is from QKR Stampede and it's called "Winter Friends."  I wish I could give you a link in case you fell in love and wanted to buy it, but the QKR Stampede rubber stamps and digis are currently on hold while the brand is up for sale.  We all have our fingers crossed that a buyer will grab them up because they're just too cute and quirky to never be seen again.  

     I colored this one with Sanjoki alcohol markers and cut the image with a square die from QuicKutz,  The three papers in the background are all scraps and they all came from a DCWV stack, "Winter Magic" which I've had for more than a decade!  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.

     Challenges:

12 Months...Christmas

Creatalicious

Creative Fingers

Dragonfly Dreams

Gem of a Challenge

Kerst Christmas

My Favorite Things

Outlawz Friday

Park Hopping

Peace on Earth

     Tomorrow I'll have a total of 3 posts, all featuring DT work.  It's not usual for me to have that many posts in one day but somehow they just all piled up because the 7th of the month fell on a Friday.  :-D  I hope you'll stop by and check things out.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

30 Days of Holidays - Letter "O"

      I'm back creating again but am still recovering so my creating is not only slow, it's punctuated by time lying down to rest.  I'm feeling disorganized and that things are out of order but regardless, this is my card for the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place and it's for the letter "O."  I know, you're scratching your head trying to figure out the "O"s, but they are: On the Edge card (to see Beccy's card which inspired me: click HERE), Over Joyed, Onyx black, Oval die (for the sentiment), and Outdoors, which is where this snow couple is.  It's a good thing I had this one done before I got sick because otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to think of all those "O"s.  :-D

     I used ProMarkers to change the colors from blues and browns into traditional Christmas red and green on an otherwise pre-colored image.   Once colored, I cut the image with a hexagon die from QuicKutz, then printed and cut the sentiment with a QuicKutz oval die.  I cut the bottom of the card front so that it was shorter than the back, then layered the image and sentiment together and put them over the edge of the card front.  The two snowflakes were cut with Cutz dies.

     I'm still not up to adding links for other challenges so I'll just wish you all Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Magical Christmas Birthday

      My sweet daughter-in-law has one of those birthdays which tends to get wrapped in with Christmas but I do make separate birthday and Christmas cards for her each year.  This was her birthday card for 2020 but I couldn't post it until now in case she was watching the blog.  Now that she's had more than enough time to get both her birthday and Christmas cards in the mail, I'll post it.

     It also serves as my first DT card for Conie Fong in 2021!  The image is called "Snowman and Birdie Friends" and I think it's adorable enough to use all winter (but for the Christmas tree decoration.)

     I used an old technique I dearly love: Cutting the image with a fancy die and using nothing but the image piece on the card front.  It's a design with no embellishments but it looks very complex despite actually being very CAS.  Nice and flat for mailing.

Colored w ProMarkers

Cut w Spellbinders die

Very old CAS technique 

     I also want to tell you about a fun "challenge-yourself" idea being promoted by my blogging buddy, V.  It's called "Just Stash January" and it involves using nothing but things already in your stash throughout the entire month of January!  There are a few reasonable exceptions (all of which mean that no money has come out of your pocket) and you can read about those on her post.  Just click on the link and find out all about it, then start counting those coins and bills you'll be 'stashing' in your pocket this month instead of crying about even more charges on the credit cards after the holiday season.  :-D  Everything on this card came from the stash. 

 

     Challenges:

Cardz TV

Crafty Calendar

Crafty Hazelnut's

Lil Patch of ...

MFT Birthday

Outlawz Festive Fri

Paper Funday

Word Art Weds.

     Have yourself a Crafty Day!  NanaConnie

Letter "H" at Beccy's Place

      If you follow my blog at all or have visited more than twice in the last week, you already know about the 30 Days of Christmas over at Beccy's Place and this is the 8th year she's done this.  Lots of prizes and the prompts are mostly from the alphabet, each day a different letter.  But, since there are only 26 letters in the alphabet and a full 30 days in November, there are also 4 "wild card" themes, one of which we've already had.  But today, I'm playing catch up by posting 3 cards in 3 posts.  I got a late start this year but am up to date now.

     For "H" I have a Holiday card featuring a Happy, Hugging snow couple dressed in Harvest Gold and Hunter Green.  I know, my previous card today also featured green and gold, but that was a "G" card and now I'm being more specific with the shades of those colors for the "H"s.  lol

     I also did Heat embossing on the ground snow, plus I cut everything into Hexagons.  Finally, both of the snow people are wearing Hats.  :-D

Colored w ProMarkers

Hexagon dies fromQuicKutz

All papers and CS were scraps

Tan background piece is dry embossed

     Challenges:

ABC Christmas

Cardz TV

Colour Crazy

Crafty Catz

Crafty Sentiments

Cute Card Thurs

Digi Choosday

Paper Funday

TTCRD

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Snowmen: Cold Hands, Warm Hearts

     It's Friday again and you know that means the next weekly challenge is starting over at QKR Stampede.  It's January and that means winter snowmen so I used a great QKR image called "Air Guitar Snowman" and a sentiment called "Cold Hands."  I'm not sure about the Air guitar part - I think he's just cleaning up all the freshly blown snowdrifts.

Colored with ProMarkers
Cut with a die from Spellbinder
EF by Darice w glitter added - fussy cut scrap
Background dp is a scrap
Sentiment is fussy cut

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Brown Sugar
Cardz TV
C.R.A.F.T.
Crafty Gals Corner
Dare 2B Artsy
House ... Stamps Built (center column)
Lil Patch of ...
Southern Girls

     Please come and play with us this week.  Our theme is always "Anything Goes" and you are not required to use a QKR image.  However, if you do use QKR (or an image from their sister digi company, Eureka Stamps), your entry goes into a separate draw and that increases your chances of winning by a huge amount!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Snowman Joy

     It's the first Thursday of the month and that means our newest challenge is starting for December at Crafting with an Attitude.  This is my last post as a DT member as I've taken on additional responsibilities on other teams I serve and I have to cut back some place.  I'm sad to leave but will be visiting as a player as often as possible.  Hugs to all my teamies.  :-D

     This month, our challenge is sponsored by Beccy's Place and, if you were visiting me at all last month, you already know how much I adore her images!  She generously gave images to the DT for them to use but I chose one from my own collection.  This is "Boxed Snowman" but I can't find it in the store now so it may have been retired.

Inspired by Sketch #569 at Sketch Saturday.

 

Colored with ProMarkers w/ white gel ink on highlights

Fussy cut with scissors
Ribbon and bow done with scraps
Snowflakes cut with Art Impressions dies
Black CS for the base

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Colour Crazy
C.R.A.F.T.
Crafty Friends
Creative Knockouts
Cute Card Thurs
Outlawz Festive Fri
Time Out

     Won't you please come play with us this month?  Our theme is always "Anything Goes" and this will be the last of our 'sponsored' challenges.  Starting in January, they will be JFF challenges.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Day 21 at Beccy's Place 30 Days of Christmas - Use Scraps

     Much as I love the alphabet prompts for the 30 Days of Christmas at Beccy's Place, when Beccy said to "Use Scraps," that was right up my alley!  I love using scraps.  It means I buy fewer papers overall but at the same time, it makes me feel justified in buying new paper stacks when supplies get low.  No, of course that's not a justification!  lol

     This card is made entirely from scraps, including the piece of CS on which I printed the image and the one from which I cut the sentiment.

     After I shared in my previous post that it doesn't snow where I live, here I am doing another of my typical Christmas cards featuring snow and snow people.  Maybe it's because we don't have snow on the ground that I feel so drawn to it for Christmas cards.

Colored with ProMarkers and gel inks
Cut with QuicKutz dies
Matted with scalloped die from Memory Box
Faux stitching done with white gel pen
Background scrap papers from DCWV (I think)
Sentiment die cut with Die-namics die

    Challenges:
ABC Christmas
Crafty Sentiments
Creative Inspirations
Cupcake Inspirations
Double D (My style is "snowy")
Lemon Shortbread
Outlawz Colors
Paper Shelter
Scrappy Land
TTCRD

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Day 9, Letter "H" at Beccy's Place 30 Days of Christmas

     Day 9 means the letter "H" at Beccy's Place 30 Days of Christmas and I'm using a few fairly simple "H"s - Happy family, Happy Holidays, Holly, "...our House to yours...", Hats, and Holly berries.  I absolutely love this Happy snowman family with a Houseful of baby snowkids from Beccys!

Colored with ProMarkers
Die cut with QuicKutz dies
Frame dp from Doodlebug
Holly leaves (from Beccy's Place) fussy cut
Front panel embossed w/ "Linen" folder
Snowflakes cut with Art Impressions dies
Snowflake button w/ glitter
Sentiment (Beccy's Place) hand cut and matted

     Challenges:
12 Months of Christmas
CCC Digi Creations
Christmas Crafts All Year ...
Crafty Hazelnut's 
Creative Inspirations
Creative Moments
Dies R Us
Ellibelle's Crafty Weds
Scrappy Land

     That's it for today.  I'm heading back to the craft room to work on another card for Beccy's Place and you'll see it posted in the next day or two.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Holder for Gift Certificate

     When the Christmas season rolls around, I find I'm always in need of gift card and gift certificate holders.  No matter how many I make, I'm always one or two short.  Maybe that's because my family comes and asks if I have any "spares" they can take.  :-D

     Once more, I'm playing in the Christmas in July challenges at Catch the Bug and today they want us to do Anything but a Card.  I love the adorable snowmen in this pre-colored image and the sentiment is inspired by the movie "Santa Claus is Coming to Town.".

Here's the Gift Certificate spot.

Pre Colored image
QuicKutz square die
Sentiment with computer font
Inked edges on the image

     Challenges:
12 Months of Christmas
Bastel-Traum
CCC Digi Creations
Christmas Crafts AYR
Crafty Calendar
Crafty Hazelnut's
Cute N Crafty
Di's Digi Designs
Simon Says Stamp & Show

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Holiday Chaos - Day 6

     The Holiday Chaos week of daily challenges at Catch the Bug is almost over, with only one more day to go after today.  The inspiration theme is a color challenge, using this photo inspiration.

    Here's what I did with it.

     I started with a pre-colored image, then used ProMarkers to add orange and yellow to the birds and carrot noses on the snowmen, and a bit of gray to the sky.  I cut the image square with my largest die from QuicKutz, then cut two straight lines to run the ribbon behind the image.

     I tied a simple, plaid bow, added it at the bottom, and used a Die-Versions die to cut the red sentiment.  Again, a card design that's pretty CAS overall and definitely flat enough to mail.

     Challenges:
Crafter's Castle
Crafty Friends
Crafty Hazelnut's
Di's Digi Designs
Fussy and Fancy
Jo's Scrap Shack
Outlawz PAM
Polkadoodles
Simon Says Stamp & Show (bow, birds, bells)

     That's all I have for today but 2 posts in one day should be enough.  I'll have 2 posts tomorrow, too; the last of the Catch the Bug Holiday Chaos projects and a new one for the challenge at QKR Stampede.  Be sure to check in for those.

    Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Making a Joyful Noise with Music

     Yep, another card for the 30 Days of Christmas at Beccy's Place but then, if you've been visiting me at all this month, you already suspected that.  :-D  The alphabet prompt is the letter "M" and we're at the midway point of both the month and the alphabet.  My "M"s to day are related to Music.  I adore these 3 snowmen Making Music, singing Christmas carols at the top of their lungs (do snowmen have lungs?)

I started with the sketch from Tuesday Morning.

     I colored with ProMarkers, my favorite alcohol Markers, and cut the image with a Lawn Fawn, stitched, square die, turned on point to make a diamond shape.  The silver and white ribbon is wired & glittered and I wrapped the card front with it.

     I printed and hand-cut the sentiment and began layering on all the different bits and pieces.  The bow is from my stash, one of those I make by the dozens and toss into the stash for future use.  The snowflake charm was in my Christmas stash and I'm sure it's been there for 3 years, forgotten and unused.  It seemed awfully happy to see the light of day when I took it out.  :-D  I added glitter to it and put it in a prominent place at the top of the card.

     Challenges:
12 Months of Christmas
Cardz TV
Crafty Sentiments
Digistamp4Joy
Outlawz Festive Friday
Passion for ProMarkers
Scrap from Your Heart
Try Stampin' on Tues.

     This is my first post of the day and in about an hour, I'll be posting my DT card for Creations in Pink so be sure to stop by again.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Snowmen or Flakes

     Our latest challenge is starting today at QKR Stampede and we have our usual "Anything Goes" theme but if you want to use the twist, it's "Snowman or Snowflakes."  I've used a sweet little snowmen image called "Father and Son" 15901 and the sentiment is also from QKR,  "All the Years" 17308.

     I colored with ProMarkers, and die cut it on an angle with a die from Spellbinders.  I printed the sentiment onto sky blue paper, cut it with a small rectangle die from QuicKutz, and added it to the image piece.  All of that went onto turquoise CS. 

     I hand tied a small bow using polka dot ribbon and layered it on just below the sentiment piece. The card design is really pretty CAS but looks more complex because of the fancy die.

     Challenges:
Color Inspiration Monday
Crafty Sentiments
Cutie Pie
Digi Choosday
House that Stamps Built
Outlawz Color
Outlawz Twisted Thurs.
Paper Girls
Passion for ProMarkers
TTCRD

     Only the weekend to go before the New Year arrives.  May your partying be safe and sane.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Let It Snow !

     I can say "Let it snow!" all I want because I live where it doesn't snow and I don't have to shovel it to get out of my driveway or down my steps to the sidewalk.  lol  But this card is for Day 6 of the Holiday Chaos at Catch the Bug challenge.  I think I've used this Bugaboo Stamps image every Christmas since I got it a few years back.

We have to use this inspiration for our theme.

     I started by coloring with my ProMarkers, then cut it into a square.  I cut a narrow frame for it by using two dies (inside and outside) from Sue Wilson.  I also cut out the shaped piece with another die from that same set and used it tucked under the side of the image, as a mat for the hand tied bow.

     This was extremely difficult to photograph because I used shiny silver-white CS for the card base and it had a glare regardless of the angle at which I shot it.  But I love the look of it IRL !

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Craft-Dee BowZ
Crafting by Designs
Crafty Creations
Cute Card Thurs.
Outlawz Twisted Thurs.
Scrappy Land
Star Stampz
Time Out (prints, patterns & snowflakes)

      Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Snowmen Selfie

     Welcome to my 4th post of the day today, this one for SheepSki Designs.  Be sure to scroll down to see the other DT projects I did for today.

     The theme for our challenge at Sheepski this month is to make it "Sparkle and Shine."  I chose a fun image called "Snowman Selfie" and I absolutely love the idea of a snow family taking selfies at their winter reunions.  I'm sure they use them for their Christmas cards.  :-D

     I did a monochromatic of reds (with neutral grays) using my ProMarkers.  I cut the image with a simple, square die from QuicKutz, then inked the edges.  The red CS is dry embossed with a poinsettia folder from Darice and I layered the image onto it, then added it to a card base made from gray CS.

     Each of the tiny ornament embellies has glitter added for sparkle and is cut from shiny silver paper.  The white star is a die cut (Cheery Lynn) and I covered it in glitter.  The silver ribbon is sparkly and the red satin ribbon, including the hand tied bow, has a polished shine.

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time to Craft Extra
Classic DT Open
Country View Crafts
Craft-Dee BowZ
Crafter's Cafe
Die Cut Divas
Dies R Us ("Winter Wonderland")
Do-Al(l) Kreatives
Not Just Cards
Outlawz Twisted Thurs.

     Whew, last post of the day and I'm exhausted!  Hope to see you playing along  with us this month.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie  

Kristmas Karaoke

     OK, silly title for the post but it's the day for "K" in the 30 days of Holidays over at Beccy's Place and when I saw these three snowmen in her shop, singing from their hearts, they looked just like a Karaoke group and that was perfect for a "K" !  Yes, I took some liberties with the spelling of Kristmas but I needed to stick with the "K"s.  :-D

I based my card on the sketch at Die Cuttin' Divas.

     Image is Kolored with ProMarkers, trimmed into a square, and Korner punched (Fiskars.)  The background was made by die Kutting gray-blue CS (Memory Box die.)  Once the piece was Kut, I had a "frame" with a more-or-less 'oval' opening but the opening wasn't large enough to let the image show through.  So, I Kut the frame into 2 pieces, patched it with a strip of that same CS, and added it to the card front.

     I used a glitter gel pen to Kolor some of the open spaces in the frame making them look like sparkly snowflakes.  I also used it to cast shadows on the snow beneath the snowmen.  Then I added the red ribbon and layered on the image.  I used one of my hand sewn bows which had been white but I dyed it with a marker.  (Don't you just hate the way I turned all those hard "C"s into "K"s?  lol)

     Challenges:
Beccy's Place
Crafty Hazelnut's Extra
Crafty Sentiments
Digi Choosday
Ike's World
Lemon Shortbread
Passion for ProMarkers
TTCRD
Unicorn

     Enjoy your weekend and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Icicles

     Yep, it's another card for the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place and today is the letter "I" so I opted for Icicles as my theme.  I chose to use Beccy's lovely family of snow people.

     I colored them with my ProMarkers, Inked the background, then cut them with a die from Gina Marie.  I printed the sentiment and cut it with another die from that same Gina Marie set.  I mounted those onto an Ice Blue card base.

     I cut the Icicles by hand from glittered CS and added them across the top of the card.  Finally,  I added three snowflakes, two silver and one Iridescent white, each with a gemstone.

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps and More
Beccy's Place
Crafting by Designs
Crafty Creations
Ike's World
Kraftin' Kimmie
Paper Shelter
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Simon Says Stamp
Sisterhood of Crafters

     I have cards made up through the letter L and hope to work on more of the alphabet over the weekend.  I know this month is going to get crazy with Thanksgiving right around the corner so I'm trying to get as many cards as possible done ahead for Beccy's alphabet challenges.  See you tomorrow with two posts, one of which will be my QKR Stampede DT card.  Come check them out.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Snowman Couple

     Nobody could possibly be as much in love as these two darling snow people.  That image is from QKR Stampede (Digi 21202 Snowman Couple and the sentiment is Digi 15116 This Much.)  Our new challenge starts today and our theme is "Snowmen."

     I did the coloring with Shinhan Touch Twin markers and then used a die from Sue Wilson to cut the image.  I mounted that onto a die cut Pinpoint Rectangle (a new die from Memory Box - hooray!) and layered that onto another rectangle.  I printed and die cut the sentiment (Spellbinders Ovals) and added the hand-sewn bow and all the sparkly snowflakes for some embellishment.

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps
Crafty Boots
Cutie Pie
Lemon Shortbread
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
MarkerPOP
One Stitch at a Time
Sweet Stampers
Words 2 Craft By
Work It Weds.

     I know you're all still in holiday mode but I hope we're going to see you playing along this week.  Dig out your snowmen or visit the QKR store and grab one from there.  You aren't required to use one of our images but if you do, your entry goes into a special draw just for QKR users so your chances of winning are much greater..  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Cold Hands, Warm Hearts

     Friday morning, only a week before Thanksgiving here in the US, and many states and cities have already had snow.  That seemed to be a good reason to celebrate "Snowmen" in our new weekly challenge at QKR Stampede.

I used colors from the inspiration photo at City Crafter.

     QKR has so many adorable snowmen in its collection but I chose this one, Digi 13004 "Winter Friends" and paired it with Digi 13804 "Cold Hands" for the sentiment.   I used my ProMarkers to color the image and then used a scalloped border die from Spellbinders to cut one side of it.  The sentiment is hand cut and inked on the edges.

     The background dp is from the "Winter Magic" stack by DCWV.  I added the striped ribbon, lacing it through the scallops and then added the sentiment piece over the ribbon by using dimensional dots.  It's a pretty simple design which looks more complex because of the patterns in the dp and the ribbon.

     Challenges:
A Snowflakes Promise
Colour Your World
Crafting with Dragonflies
Craft Your Passion
Crafty Sentiments Designs
Love to Scrap
Papertake Weekly
Scrapy Land
Sweet Stamps
Through the Craft Room Door
Where the HeART Is
WordArt Wednesday

     The weekend is here already - can you believe it?  This will be the last one I have to get things ready for Thanksgiving.  Tomorrow, I'm spending the day (and night) with my granddaughters, getting the last bits and final touches of costumes sewn for their big day at our local Comicon.

     It's been a project which has taken up the greater part of two weekends and several weekday afternoons but I've had so much fun spending that time teaching the first steps in sewing.  Nothing like picking a very complex costume pattern for the first sewing project!  But, then, that's my granddaughter.  Tackle big projects with absolute faith that they can be accomplished. :-D   Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Friends Across the Miles

     It's so good to be back posting with The Crafter's Cafe again after taking a leave while I was doing all that moving.  Having gotten the craft room into a manageable state (which is not to say it's organized or even completely unpacked), I'm excited to be fulfilling my DT obligations again.

     This challenge our theme is "Friends" and our wonderful sponsor is QKR Stampede.  I love QKR digis and I found this image in my own collection, although QKR provided images to the team.  I wanted to do something that would celebrate all those friends and loved ones who are so many miles away but are still counted among those dear to us.

I chose to use the sketch at CAS on Sunday.

     I really love coloring QKR digis and watching them come to life.  I used my favorite ProMarkers, and then added Metallic Silver EP from WOW! to the mailbox and the larger gift.   I used a glitter gel pen to make the snowflakes and shadow the snow on which the snowman is standing.

     I used a VersaMark pen on the bits I wanted to emboss, then sprinkled on the EP and used my heat gun. That's one of my favorite ways to heat emboss digital images.  I always color the image first, then use an Embossing Buddy to powder the image before applying the EP.  That way,  I don't get unwanted spots of EP on the digi.  Here's a tip for you:  When you want to heat emboss really small areas of a digital image, use a very small 'spotter' type paint brush, stroke it across your embossing ink pad (or dip it into your refill bottle if you have one) and then 'paint' the area you want to emboss.  The embossing ink sticks to the paper and you can emboss smaller areas than the VersaMark pen tip would allow.  The biggest problem with VersaMark pens, I think, is the relatively large size of the nibs.

     The bow is one of those I sew and I used ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon to make it.  Paper came from DCWV, their "Winter Magic" stack from a couple of years ago.  I used a strip of washi tape and mounted the sentiment on it.  The rhinestone bling was in my stash.  (It's amazing what you can find when you have to pack and then unpack due to a move!!)   After all I've done on this card (or should I say "haven't done" -- meaning I left off most of the embellishments I wanted to use), I certainly hope it has a CAS feel to it.  I know the open space isn't 'white' space but there was so much white in the image piece, it just needed a patterned background to showcase it.  At least the bow & rhinestones are the only embellishments and it will definitely fit in to a standard envelope.

     Challenges:
2 Sisters -- Christmas with no red or green
A&T Emerald Faeries -- Ribbon/lace & bling
A Little Bit Crafty -- Sparkle and shine
Card and Scrap -- Christmas cards
Catered Crop -- Washi tape
Challenges 4 Everybody -- Anything goes
Christmas Card Challenge -- Dimension
Christmas Cards All Year Round -- Winter wonderland
Corrosive Challenges -- TicTacToe: bling/ image/ layers
Crafting Cafe -- Winter blues
Die Cut Divas -- Holidays and celebrations
Flat Friends -- Christmas cards
Great Impressions -- Holiday card or tag
Hobbycutz -- Song inspired (Blue Christmas)
One Crazy Stamper -- Christmas
Outlawz PAM -- Snowmen
Really Reasonable  Ribbon -- Christmas + ribbon
Tok Bobok -- Christmas
Whoopsi Daisy -- Monochromatic
WOW Embossing Powders -- Christmas/Winter

     Goodness, I haven't done a single card for that many challenges in many months!  But this week/month seems to have so many challenges with Christmas or winter themes, how could I resist?  :-D  I hope we're going to see you playing in our challenge at The Crafter's Cafe.  Remember, it doesn't have to be Christmas -- just anything that fits our "Friends" theme.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie